PEN American Center named the following journalists winners of its 2006 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Awards: Mohammed Benchicou, a newspaper publisher already in prison and facing 50 additional sentences for his newspaper’s independent reporting. Rakhim Esenov, a novelist, historian, and Radio Free Europe correspondent whose works are banned and who has been barred from traveling outside the reclusive, repressive country of Turkmenistan. The awards honor international literary figures who have been persecuted or imprisoned for exercising or defending the right to freedom of expression. Read the PEN news release.

Journalists and media workers continue to be arrested and detained in Nepal, according to Reporters Without Borders. The incidents began following nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations earlier this month. Read more on RSF’s website.

Marilú Gambini, a television journalist from Peru, has left the country with her children after receiving repeated death threats. Gambini covers drug trafficking issues and has been beaten several times because of her investigations. Read the IFEX alert.

More than 200 Nepalese journalists have been detained in Nepal since April 4. Pro-democracy demonstrations continue throughout the country, and the United Nations and allies of Nepal have called on the government to use restraint when confronting protesters. Read the CPJ alert.

Palestinian journalists covering unrest in the West Bank have been attacked by Israeli soldiers at least twice this month. On April 17 and 22, journalists from media outlets such as the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse were assaulted in Nablus. Read the CPJ alert.

A recently released study cites setbacks in press freedom in 2005. Called "Freedom of the Press 2006: A Global Survey of Media Independence," the Freedom House study details setbacks in Asia and Africa, as well as a continuation of decline in Latin America and the former Soviet Union. The survey, first launched in 1980, assesses the degree of print, broadcast, and Internet freedom worldwide. Read the Freedom House press release

The International Press Institute named The Yemen Times, an independent newspaper, the winner of its 2006 Free Media Pioneer Award. The award, which is co-sponsored by the Freedom Forum, honors individuals or organizations that have fought against great odds to ensure freer and more independent media in their country or region. Read the IPI press release.

A new report from the Carnegie Corporation of New York examines the current role of journalism as well as its future. The report, called "Crisis of Confidence: A Challenge for the Next Generation," was issued in association with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. To read about the report and for a link to the document, visit The Foundation Center’s website.

Women's eNews commentator Sheila Gibbons examines the challenges for women in newsroom leadership. Gibbons is editor of Media Report to Women, a quarterly news journal of news, research and commentary about women and media. Read the Women's eNews article.

A photographer was killed and two radio reporters were attacked recently in the Philippines. Albert Orsolino of the daily newspaper Saksi Ngayon was killed north of Manila on May 16. Also, among other threats and attacks on journalists, a radio reporter was shot and seriously wounded on May 6, and a grenade attack injured another radio reporter in April. Read the RSF article.

A radio journalist was shot to death May 22 in the Philippines, marking the latest incident in the continued violence in the country. Provincial radio journalist and commentator Fernando Batul was shot multiple times as he drove to work at DZRH radio station. Batul had received threats just a week before his death. Read the CPJ alert

An Iranian state newspaper was shut down and its editor-in-chief arrested May 23. The closure and arrests stemmed from the publication of a cartoon that sparked riots by ethnic Azeris. The newspaper's cartoonist was also arrested. Read the CPJ alert.

North Korea is the most censored country, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The organization issued its report in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day on May 3. Among the top censored countries are Burma and Turkmenistan. Read more about CPJ’s list.

CBS News cameraman Paul Douglas and soundman James Brolan were killed May 29 when a car bomb exploded in Baghdad. Correspondent Kimberly Dozier, the third member of the CBS crew, was seriously injured. She had surgery at a U.S. military hospital in Baghdad. The journalists were embedded with the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division. Read more in the CPJ alert.

Anja Niedringhaus, a 2005 recipient of the IWMF's Courage in Journalism Award, has been named a Nieman Fellow by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. Twenty-eight U.S. and international journalists were selected for the highly competitive award, which was established in 1938. Visit the Nieman Foundation’s website to read the press release.